reign_cwfandomcom-20200215-history
Italy
Italy is a European country where some of the residents and visitors of the French Court are originally from. Country Name The assumptions on the etymology of the name "Italia" are very numerous and the corpus of the solutions proposed by historians and linguists is very wide. According to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin: Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning "land of young cattle". The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy according to Antiochus of Syracuse, the southern portion of the Bruttium peninsula. Ancient History Since ancient times, Greek, Etruscan, Celtic and other cultures have flourished in the territory of present-day Italy. Rome eventually emerged as the dominant power on the peninsula, conquering most of the "known world" as the leading political and religious center of Western civilization. During the Dark Ages, the Italian Peninsula faced calamitous invasions by barbarian tribes, but beginning around the 11th century, numerous Italian city-states rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking (indeed, modern capitalism has its roots in medieval Italy). Especially during The Renaissance, Italian culture thrived, producing scholars, artists, and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Italian explorers such as Polo, Columbus, Vespucci, and Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nevertheless, Italy would remain fragmented into many warring states, subsequently falling prey to larger European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria. Italy would thus enter a long period of decline that lasted until the mid 19th century. Italian independence Wars After various unsuccessful attempts, the second and the third wars for Italian independence resulted in the unification of most of present-day Italy between 1859–66. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italy rapidly industrialized and acquired a colonial empire becoming a Great Power. However, Southern and rural Italy remained largely excluded from industrialization, fueling a large and influential diaspora. Despite being one of the main victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, which favored the establishment of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922. The subsequent participation in World War II at the Axis side ended in military defeat, economic destruction and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the most developed nations Geography Italy is located in Southern Europe, between latitudes 35° and 47° N, and longitudes 6° and 19° E. To the north, Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia, and is roughly delimited by the Alpine watershed, enclosing the Po Valley and the Venetian Plain. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula and the two Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Sardinia, in addition to many smaller islands. The sovereign states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian enclave in Switzerland. The country's total area is 301,230 square kilometers (116,306 sq mi), of which 294,020 km2 (113,522 sq mi) is land and 7,210 km2 (2,784 sq mi) is water. Including the islands, Italy has a coastline and border of 7,600 kilometers (4,722 miles) on the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian seas (740 km (460 mi)), and borders shared with France (488 km (303 mi)), Austria (430 km (267 mi)), Slovenia (232 km (144 mi)) and Switzerland (740 km (460 mi)). San Marino (39 km (24 mi)) and Vatican City (3.2 km (2.0 mi)), both enclaves, account for the remainder. Residents Current *Roman de' Medici *Pietro de' Medici *Francesca de' Medici *Penelope Former *Catherine de' Medici (moved to France) *Olivia D'Amencourt (moved to Trinidad) *Vincent (deceased) *Hortenza de' Medici (deceased) Locations *Florence (mentioned) *Venice (mentioned) Trivia *Penelope is living here, because she is in training to become a member of Queen Catherine's Flying Squad. * The House of Medici are the current de facto rulers of Italy. * The only visitors of French Court not to be from the House of Medici are Olivia, Vincent, and Penelope. Gallery 164px-Coat_of_arms_of_Rome_svg.png|Coat of Arms of Rome: Italy's capital city 455px-Italian_regions_provinces_white_no_labels_svg.png|Map of Italy 640px-Italy_topographic_map-blank_svg.png|Topographic map of Italy Campania_Caserta2_tango7174.jpg|The Royal Palace of Caserta Leaning_tower_of_pisa_2.jpg|Leaning Tower of Pisa Emblem_of_Italy_svg.png|Emblem of Italy 1024px-Vatican_City_at_Large.jpg|Rome, Italy 1024px-Napoli6.png|Naples, Italy 1024px-Milano_piazza_Duomo.jpg|Milan, Italy 1280px-Mont_Blanc_from_Aosta_Valley.JPG|Mont Blanc, the highest point in all of Europe 1024px-Pano_vico_d'elsa.jpg|Hilly landscape in Tuscany 1024px-Torino.jpg|Turin, Italy 1280px-Colosseum_in_Rome,_Italy_-_April_2007.jpg|The Colosseum in Rome 1024px-Castel_del_Monte_-_Apulia.JPG|Castel del Monte, built by German Emperor Frederick II. 1024px-Facade_San_Giovanni_in_Laterano_2006-09-07.jpg|The Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, official ecclesiastical seat of the Pope. 1024px-Isola_di_Levanzo,_Sicilia,_Italia.jpg|Southern Italy landscape in Sicily Category:Season One Category:Location Category:Help Needed Category:Italian Category:Europe Category:Country